The Governor, Part II

Yesterday's lunch was a blast, so we followed it up with another one today, this time with the Governor of Kapisa Province, our other area of responsibility.

Actually, we didn't just meet with the Governor either day-- it was the entire provincial government, including all of the department heads and the elected members of the legislature, about 20 folks total (19 of them men). The split between the two kinds of officials was amazing. The department heads were all executive-branch technocrats (or wannabe technocrats) in suits and trim beards, with a good bunch of them speaking decent English.

The elected members were straight out of a Nightline special report- traditional wool hats representing their respective tribes, big bushy beards, and long cotton shirts and baggy pants. Interestingly, most of these guys wore some sort of western jacket or sportcoat over their otherwise Afghan outfit.

I was lucky enough to sit with the electeds, who immediately started digging into me. They asked how many wives I had, and were disappointed that I had none. They wanted to know if I was Christian and how often I prayed everyday. They asked if my parents were still alive, and whether I would take care of them when they got old. But mostly, they just laughed at my sad attempts to speak a few phrases of Dari (Afghan Persian).

My conversations pale in comparison to a couple of buddies'. They noticed the ring on one Air Force Captain's finger, and asked how long he'd been married. "Six years," he answered. "Excellent! (through a translator)How many children do you have, Captain?" "None," he smiled. Shocked, his lunch buddy smacked his fellow Afghans on the back and laughed, "what's the matter, can't find the hole?"

Here's another- at today's lunch a handful of female officials joined us. Just coming to the lunch already speaks volumes regarding these ladies' toughness and commitment. A female soldier from our group joined them for lunch, and they hit it off, the bunch of them chatting and laughing through lunch. The Kapisa governor, a much schmoozier guy than yesterday's governor, started working the room and made his way to the ladies. He sat down and joined them for dessert, grabbed a piece of cake, and took a couple of fork-fulls as he mingled. After he got up, my buddy looked at one of the ladies and asked, "wasn't that your cake?" The council-member didn't miss a beat as she shot back,"Yeah, he took my cake just like he takes my rights."

I'm not making this stuff up.

The smart-assier among you are probably laughing at me, thinking, "this guy's not at war! I'm taking my care package back." You're right, this isn't your typical follow-the-blackhawks-and-kick-down-the doors kind of mission. But it's my mission. And I like it.

I'm really encouraged by this, actually. I was in Iraq for over 6 months before we ever did anything remotely this inclusive and personal. It's gonna be a productive year.